AFP Charges 2 Men for Allegedly Accessing PMs Banking Records

The sign of the Commonwealth Bank is seen at one of its branches in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 8, 2018. William West/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Australian Federal Police have charged two men, including an employee of auditing giant Ernst and Young, with accessing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s bank details.At the time, the two were employed to consult for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).“The AFP charged two Sydney men on 6 May, 2026, with allegedly accessing restricted personal banking data belonging to a federal parliamentarian,” the AFP said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.A 21-year-old man has been charged with one count of unauthorised access to, or modification of, restricted data, contrary to section 478.1 of the Criminal Code (Commonwealth).He also faces one count of using a carriage service to publish or distribute personal information about one or more individuals in a manner that reasonable people would consider menacing or harassing, contrary to subsection 474.17C(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).A second man, aged 25, has been charged with one count of causing unauthorised access to restricted data, intending for that access to occur and knowing it was unauthorised.Both men were granted police bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on June 30, 2026.“As the matter is before the court, no further comment will be made,” the AFP spokesperson said.An Ernst and Young spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by The Epoch Times.The ABC reported that the prime minister’s office had declined to comment on the matter, but reported comments from Treasurer Jim Chalmers who said the breach was concerning.“I think on the face of it, any developments of that kind are incredibly concerning, not just in relation to the PM’s details, but any Australian’s details,” he said.“I assume that there are now legal and other processes to play out and I don’t want to get in the way of those.”